Star Wars: 16 Unresolved Mysteries And Burning Questions After The Last Jedi

After two long years of waiting following the blockbuster success of The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally here. In addition to catching up with the new core characters introduced in episode VII, The Last Jedi finally offered audiences everywhere an opportunity to find out what had happened to the man, the myth, the legend Luke Skywalker-- and boy was most of it utterly shocking.

The Last Jedi also introduced a bevy of new strong supporting characters, including the clear standout in Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico. Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo was a welcome surprise, with her plot offering an all too welcome twist in the end. And, of course, the porgs. How could we not address the cutest creatures in all the galaxy?

It's no real surprise, then, that given all the characters, new and old, that The Last Jedi was forced to juggle, we've walked away with a whole lot of questions we're itching to have answered as soon as possible. And trust us when we say that this is only the beginning of everything we need to know, because The Last Jedi changed the whole game.

Here are 16 Unresolved Mysteries And Burning Questions After The Last Jedi.

16 What was the point of Snoke?

Let's start off with some brutal honesty here: what really was the point of Supreme Leader Snoke? As we all know, the supposed big bad of this new trilogy was quite easily done away with by his apprentice Kylo Ren in one of The Last Jedi's most satisfying twists.

However, leading up to that moment, what was the point of the mangled, predatory, golden-robed villain, other than providing some requisite creep factor to the franchise in the way the Emperor once did?

We still don't really know much of anything about Snoke, for one, and given the fact that there's a new Supreme Leader in town, it seems unlikely that we'll be getting any more information on him.

So basically, we all wasted two years theorizing about who this monstrous man was. In the end, everyone's Snoke theory truly did suck.

15 Are Rey and Kylo Ren destined to rule together?

Over the course of The Last Jedi, Rey and Kylo Ren engage in disarming Force bond scenes with one another, scenes that are so charged with tension and emotion they leave even viewers themselves feeling totally raw.

Once they make physical contact with one another as a result of this bond, it's made clear that the two have shared a vision of their future.

Most notable about this is the fact that it is indeed their future, a joint one, that they come to differ in opinions about. Rey believes Ben Solo will cross back over to the light and they will be able to be together somehow. However, Kylo believes it will be Rey who turns to the dark, and she will stand by his side for years to come.

No matter how different their visions may be in concept, what remains the same is absolutely vital. If their visions show a future in which they are together, are Rey and Kylo Ren truly destined to rule side by side?

14 Who will lead the Resistance in episode IX?

The Resistance finds itself in dire straits for much of The Last Jedi. With their numbers dramatically decreased, and with General Leia Organa out of commission for half of the film, their outlook has never been more bleak.

By the end of the film, however, things begin to turn their way. However, two key losses may leave them in a state of greater flux when we next catch up with them in episode IX.

Amilyn Holdo apparently sacrifices herself in order to ensure their safety, which leaves them down one potential leader. And Carrie Fisher's tragic passing will force Lucasfilm to envision a future without Leia Organa as the face of the Resistance.

Certain expanded universe comics seem to suggest that Leia has bee grooming Poe Dameron to take her place when the time comes. But given how reckless and trigger happy Poe has proven himself to be, that really may not be the best idea.

13 How did no one know that Luke was a Force ghost on Crait?

It's a crucial plot twist in the last act of the film. Luke Skywalker arrives on Crait, says an emotional goodbye to his beloved twin sister, and faces off with his nephew Kylo Ren.

However, all along, this Luke we are seeing is, in fact, a Force ghost projection of a younger version of Luke. The real Luke remains behind on Ahch-To, exerting himself well beyond his limits to complete this projection and ensure the Resistance can get away mostly unscathed.

Somehow, no one realizes that Luke isn't really himself, even as the film goes to great lengths to reveal that Luke leaves no footprints in the white and red salts of Crait.

It's also likely, though, that Luke chose this particular appearance for a reason. It's the way he looked when Ben Solo saw him for the last time, and therefore Kylo Ren's rage would have blinded any logic.

12 Are Kylo Ren and Rey the most powerful Force users in the galaxy?

Ever since The Force Awakens came out, there has been a heated debate about who is really more powerful, scavenger Rey or fallen son Kylo Ren? However, as one scene in The Last Jedi shows, we may have been focusing on yet another wrong question.

As Kylo and Rey engage in a very heated tug of war over the historic Skywalker lightsaber, their shared Force user energy does the unthinkable: it snaps the lightsaber clear in half as though it were made from nothing.

Beyond that, it's heavily implied that the intensity of their Force abilities is what leads to a near cataclysmic explosion. It is the burst of energy that splits an entire star destroyer clear down the middle, rather than Holdo's attempts at piloting her craft straight through it.

So we have to wonder: are Rey and Kylo now the ultimate Force users? Based on the sheer amount they did in this film that had never been done before, we're more than inclined to say yes.

11 Did Chewbacca ever actually eat a porg?!

In one of The Last Jedi's most visually traumatizing moments, an early scene of Chewbacca on Ahch-To reveals that the Wookiee has hunkered down around a campfire to prepare himself some dinner. Also, his dinner of choice, as it turns out, appears to be two little porgs cooked almost rotisserie style.

Thankfully, at that exact moment, a group of porgs surrounds him and gives him their best vocal protestations. One poor little porg even gives him puppy eyes, its lip trembling as it whimpers and tries to persuade him not to eat one of its own.

Chewbacca scares the birds away eventually, and he seems to hesitate in eating before the scene ends. But does he actually eat the birds? The scene cuts away before we can know for sure.

However, based on how guilty he seemed to look, and the fact that he's befriended a group of porgs on the Falcon later in the film, we're hoping that he changed his diet in the end.

10 Is it really time for the light and the dark to end?

From the earliest promotion for The Last Jedi, we've known that Luke Skywalker believed that "it's time for the Jedi to end." The film itself only further reaffirms his belief in this, showing how jaded and broken down Luke has become, and how critical he is of the Jedi order and their arrogance and vanity.

Later in the film, Kylo Ren makes a similar point, but on a whole new level. When he tells Rey that "it's time to let old things die," he means the light and the dark both need to come to an end. Snoke is dead, and soon Luke will be as well. The Jedi have fallen, and the First Order should too.

When you think about his reasoning, is Kylo really that wrong? Neither Jedi/Rebellion/Resistance, nor Sith/Empire/First Order have ultimately been successful in the long run.

Perhaps it's time for a new order to begin, one that is able to do what neither order had ever been able to: find the balance between both ends.

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9 What happened to the Knights of Ren?

In The Force Awakens, Supreme Leader Snoke refers to Kylo Ren as the master of the Knights of Ren. And in Rey's much discussed Force vision, Kylo Ren appears, flanked by a group of similarly dressed and armed soldiers, presumably the knights he is the master of.

Yet in The Last Jedi, the Knights of Ren are nowhere to be found. We do learn that when Ben Solo defected from the Jedi academy Luke had started with a dozen students, he killed half of them, and took the other half with him on the run. It stands to reason, then, that these students would go on to become Kylo's knights.

However, beyond this quick reference, these mysterious figures are nowhere to be found. Which leads us to wonder: where are they-- and, even further, are they all still alive?

8 How was Rose able to fly so well?

It's an unfortunately common issue of logic all across the Star Wars franchise. Magically, a character displays expert skills in a task that they have never taken part in before. More often than not, this skill is being able to pilot a ship like a natural.

The latest character to fall prey to this trope is Rose Tico. As a character who spends her life working with pipes in the Resistance base, it's shocking to say the least that Rose is able to pilot not just one, but two types of crafts perfectly.

Perhaps we're meant to assume that she learned some of her skills from her late sister, Resistance hero Paige Tico. However, that logical leap notwithstanding, we're really not sure how Rose is able to do all that she does. Yet, for the sake of the plot, it's damn near essential.

7 How did Snoke not sense Kylo Ren's betrayal?

Supreme Leader Snoke's arrogance may have led to his downfall, but that doesn't make his end any less puzzling.

Snoke claims to be all knowing, able to read each and every last thought that his apprentice Kylo Ren has. As he instructs Kylo to kill Rey, he is even able to narrate each and every move he makes. Kylo is going to turn the lightsaber around, he predicts, and strike true, killing his own enemy.

Yet Snoke never appears to understand that the true enemy Kylo intends to kill is Snoke himself, rather than his hopeful ally Rey. For someone who claims to be omniscient, that's one pretty unforgivable big mistake.

6 Why did Rey preserve the old Jedi texts?

Soon after arriving on Ahch-To, Rey finds herself drawn to a hollowed out tree that contains the ancient Jedi order texts. Mysterious as they are, we are never made privy to any of the secrets they contain, but consistently reminded of their dated allure.

When Luke and Yoda set fire to the tree, we're led to believe that the books have been burned up along with it. However, a quick shot at the end of the film reveals that the books are, in fact, stashed away in a drawer on board the Millennium Falcon.

Why, then, did Rey take them? What does she intend to do with them? If Yoda himself believed they were unnecessary, and hardly compelling reading, what could these books possibly hold for the future of the Jedi order?

5 Has Rey and Kylo Ren's Force bond been real all along?

It's a jarring moment in The Last Jedi, when a laughing Supreme Leader Snoke claims that it was he who bridged the minds of Kylo and Rey.

Given the emotional intensity and resonance of the young duo's previous scenes, it's almost a gut-wrenching reveal. They had believed they had found someone who understood their pain, only to learn that it was manufactured.

Was it really, though? The final scene the duo share in the film suggests something so much more. A broken and defeated Kylo Ren locks eyes through the Force with Rey, who stands aboard the Falcon looking torn and disappointed. The bond is still alive, even though Snoke is not.

Even further, this bond can be traced all the way back to The Force Awakens. Kylo's enigmatic statement in the interrogation says it all: "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too."

These two characters have been connected long before Snoke intervened, and it's beyond clear that this bond won't be going away any time soon.

4 Was Kylo telling the truth about Rey's parentage?

Perhaps the most heated topic of debate that The Force Awakens created was the matter of Rey's parentage. Was she the abandoned child of Luke Skywalker and an unknown woman? Or was she Han and Leia's lost daughter? Maybe she was a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Or maybe Emperor Palpatine. Qui-Gon Jinn. The Force itself.

The theories, it seemed, were endless, and highly contentious. However, in the end, none of them mattered. As Kylo and Rey discuss themselves, it's revealed that Rey's parents were truly no one.

Kylo claims that they were Jakku junk dealers who traded Rey away for drinking money, adding further insult to injury.

For better or worse, Kylo Ren has been the one character across the franchise who has been consistently honest with Rey. So it seems like this really might be the truth.

3 Who is the boy with the broom at the end of the film?

In a coda to the main narrative, The Last Jedi ends by returning to the young children force to work in the fathier stables on Canto Bight.

After the children engage in some storytelling about Luke Skywalker himself, one boy heads outside to resume his chores. And in a truly wowing visual, the little boy uses the Force to pull his broom into his hand. He then looks at the Resistance ring left behind by Rose Tico, before staring out into the vast and endless sky.

Who is this little boy-- and how does he have the Force? The pose he assumes as he stares into the sky is entirely reminiscent of the iconic "Binary Sunset" Luke scene from A New Hope. Is this little boy the face of a new Jedi Order?

2 Can Kylo Ren still be redeemed?

Redemption and hope are at the very heart of what Star Wars is about. So what do we imagine the future holds for Kylo Ren, based on the decisions he made in The Last Jedi?

Kylo makes both great and horrible decisions in the film. He kills his longtime manipulator, Supreme Leader Snoke, but then appoints himself the next Supreme Leader. Yet, no matter his villainous new title, the movie makes it clear that we're not meant to give up on Kylo just yet.

For much of The Last Jedi, he isn't even referred to as Kylo. Luke, Yoda, and Rey herself consistently refer to him as Ben Solo.

Luke informs Leia that "no one's ever really gone" when she seems to have lost hope in Ben's return. The final shot of a broken and sorrowful Kylo Ren on his knees staring up at Rey seems to suggest that he has hit rock bottom.

With all of this taken into consideration, as well as Rose's line about "not fighting what we hate, saving what we love," it's pretty clear that by the end of episode IX, the prodigal son will return home.

1 What really happened to Luke?

One of the most shocking and heartbreaking moments of The Last Jedi occurs near the very end of the film. Luke Skywalker, having previously been repulsed by being considered a legend and a hero, makes himself the ultimate hero by sacrificing his life for the greater good.

What really happens in that moment? As he sits peacefully on a rock in Ahch-To, Luke entirely vanishes, leaving only his cloak behind, much in the way that both Yoda and Obi-Wan did upon their demise. However, just because Luke's physical form may no longer exist, that doesn't mean he won't be a vital part of episode IX.

It's almost impossible to imagine an episode IX without Luke's Force ghost around, imparting wit and wisdom in equal measure. However, we'll just have to wait until 2019 to see for ourselves.

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What other burning questions do you have after Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Let us know in the comments!